Recorded live at GBH Mobile, Boston, Massachusetts and Effanel Music, New York, New York.

The unforgettable documentary Bringing It All Back Home recorded an astonishing array of Irish, American and British musicians in a wide assortment of contexts, from small pubs to concert stages to the great houses of Ireland. Tracing the journeys Irish music has taken over the centuries, the producers traveled to Dublin, London, Nashville, New York and beyond, recording and interviewing scores of artists for the five-hour television series.

The remarkable performances recorded for the series have long enjoyed legendary status among Irish and folk-music fans. 37 tracks were released in the early '90's on a British double CD, now long out of print. Nearly a decade later, Valley Entertainment is proud to make all of the original music available again, freshly remastered by producer Donal Lunny, along with several previously unissued performances from the series. The result is a moving and unforgettable journey along the paths Irish music has taken, both in the New World and on its way back home again.

Music in the Stone
In the beginning was the silence. The first music was wind and ocean. Before the symphony of other sounds began, nature spent millions of years in meditation, its great solitude calmed and calmed by the mantra of its own breathing. The secret music of nature is concealed in the stone. The Burren in western Ireland is a limestone paradise. Some wild and surrealistic God sculpted here the most unexpected and magical stone shapes. Mullaghmore mountain is the tabernacle of the Burren, its folded shape evokes a poignancy and a sense of reverence. Once glimpsed it can never be forgotten. The history and the mystery of the Burren come alive in its elegance and silence.

Mullaghmore is a sacred mountain. Now the wheels of greed are rolling towards it. This cassette is part of the brave endeavour of the Burren Action Group to save Mullaghmore. This is the second anniversary in our campaign.*

Music is the most powerful human sound. We place these 14 icons of music before the mountain. With them we praise the ancient music hidden in its silence. We thank all the artists who for two years have given so freely and faithfully off their gifts. We thank all who have stood with us. May the spirit of Mullaghmore bless everyone. Enjoy the music!

John O'Donohue
April 1993

A selection of highlights from the legendary "In Their Own Words: A Bunch of Songwriters Sitting Around Singing" series, where songwriters talk about their craft and sing selections from their songbooks. Recorded live at the Bottom Line it features Joey Ramone, Shawn Colvin, Grahm Parker and Luka Bloom, amongst others, performing the tunes they made timeless in a truely 'unplugged' enviroment.

One performer with guitar. This is where Studio C began. Luka Bloom stood alone before
our microphones and worked his magic as a reminder that music comes from the song.
~KBCO Studio C

Another satisfying collection of Celtic music, traditional and contemporary, that includes such modern-day folkies as Luka Bloom and, for the lack of a better term, New Age composer Loreena McKennitt. Fans who remember Planxty, the Bothy Band, Silly Wizard, and Capercaillie will embrace the performances here by individual members of those critically acclaimed and popular groups. Nightnoise singer Triona Ní Dhomhnaill, who was once described as one of the greatest voices of the century, sings a haunting piece called 'Solus', while her brother and former Bothy Band fiddler Kevin Burke create an enchanting place on 'On a Cold Winter's Day/Christmas Eve'. In the end, Celtic Christmas really is all of a piece. Each work stands on its own, but taken together they form real feelings for the holiday that run from reverence to revelry and from joy to solitude. Moody and transcendent stuff.
~Martin Keller, Amazon.com

'HONOR: A Benefit For The Honor The Earth Campaign' is a fund raising effort for the Honor The Earth Campaign, a nonprofit group that works to build awareness and support for over 200 indigenous communities and helps do defend them against environmental threats. Many of the tracks on HONOR were either written or recorded for this project, and are previously unreleased.
~Honor The Earth Organisation

A lullaby of an album, Celtic Christmas II features two James Galway flute pieces ('The Wexford Carol' and 'I'll Rock You to Rest') that set the tone for this gentle collection. Some of the usual suspects, Nightnoise, folkie Luka Bloom, Capercaillie, Triona Ní Dhomhnaill, and others, appear on the 14-track survey of more Celtic music. Flutes and tin whistles seem to dominate the instrumental range here, underscored by strong vocal performances such as Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill's 'Johnny Seoighe' and of course a lament or two. Would Christmas be any more joyful if it weren't balanced by world-weary ballads, dirges, and heartsick songs? The Irish know and so they wisely indulge in both the light and the dark.
~Martin Keller, Amazon.com

Legends of Ireland traces the evolution of contemporary Irish and Celtic music through the course of 18 tracks. Beginning in the early '60s with the Clancy Brothers' "Holy Ground", the disc runs through a number of folk songs before moving into the modern era with Christy Moore's "Ride On" and the Pogues' "A Pair of Brown Eyes"."Granted, those have more in common with the folk roots of Celtic than the ethereal, atmospheric work of Clannad, Eleanor McEvoy, Altan and Solas, who dominate the last third of this record. By juxtaposing those two periods, the disc does a good job of tracing the evolution of contmeporary Celtic music and its rise in popularity. There are some major groups, including the Chieftains, missing from this collection, but in general, it offers a nice one-stop introduction to the genre.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

© Rena Bergholz - Luka Bloom Page